Everyday Heroes
by defyingnormalcy
Summary: Raydor takes Rusty to see a midnight film, and runs into her favourite DDA. Raydor/Hobbs (UST), Raydor and Rusty. Fluffy and fun.


"Sharon, this is going to be totally awesome, I promise," Rusty said brightly. His grin was infectious.

"So totally awesome that you're going to be up at 6:30am and ready to leave _on time _for school?" she asked, a glint in her eyes.

"I'll be up by 6am, and I'll even make us breakfast," he promised with earnest sincerity. "And you're going to love it, it's _so_ cool!" he said emphatically.

Sharon smiled warmly at him as he continued to go on about his expectations for the film. When Rusty had asked her last week if she'd come with him to see Iron Man 3, she'd been touched by his desire to spend time with her at such a public event. He'd begged her to let him go to the midnight screening, promising that he'd take a nap and do all of his homework before the show, ensuring her that he'd be bright and alert for school the next day. Her initial response had been a firm no, the movie was close to three hours long and she didn't think it was wise for either of them to be up so late with work and school the next day. But the look of unfiltered joy on his face, the buzz of excitement that seemed to take over whenever the movie was brought up in conversation finally broke her resolve. And so, here she was, at 11:30pm, lined up outside the theatre with a few hundred other Iron Man fans (mostly teenagers and young adults, a few young couples on dates) with her foster child, waiting to be let into the auditorium.

"Hey Sharon, look! Isn't that DDA Hobbs? I didn't know she had kids." Rusty gestured towards the blonde, who was standing not too far ahead in the line from where they were. Andrea must have heard Rusty say her name, because she turned her head in their direction, and smiled, waving at them to come stand next to her.

"Come on – she's got a better spot in line." Rusty nudged Sharon to follow him towards the blonde and the two boys standing next to her.

"Hey Rusty." Andrea greeted him as they joined her in line. "Fancy seeing the two of you here." Her smile was bright and genuine when she made eye contact with Sharon.

"Yeah, Sharon wasn't too convinced about seeing the midnight show, but I told her that it would be totally awesome," he bragged excitedly.

Sharon shrugged, blushing slightly. "It's been years since I've gone out at this hour," she said self-deprecatingly. Andrea was clad in dark denim and a black button down shirt, looking relaxed and happy; Sharon stared at the blonde appreciatively. Andrea must have sensed where Sharon's mind was, because there was a knowing glint in those blue-grey eyes. There had been something between them for a while now, a lingering attraction that seemed to intensify the longer they were in one another's presence. They'd never spoken about it, perhaps they were both afraid of the consequences of getting involved with a coworker, or perhaps Andrea was as fearfully reluctant to explore the intensity of her attraction as Sharon was.

"I know what you mean," Andrea said, winking at Sharon, "I'm here tonight doing my duties as an aunt." She gestured towards the boys next to her, Sharon surmised that they were around 13 and 15.

"Aunt Andrea is such a liar," the younger boy said, his sharp blue eyes were every bit as piercing as his aunts, "she's the biggest Iron Man nerd ever. She let us read all of her comics and always takes us to the midnight shows for the movies," he said proudly.

Andrea blushed. "Okay, I may be a slight fan myself," she admitted, "This is Kevin and Charlie. Guys, this is Captain Raydor and Rusty." The boys exchanged nods.

"Hey Rusty, do you like arcade games? Kevin and I wanted to play but the only game available is a three player game?" Charlie, the older boy asked.

"Yeah, sure," Rusty said. "Sharon, we'll be back in a bit, cool?" Sharon watched proudly as he set off with the two boys towards the arcade section of the theatre.

"That's sweet of you to take him out tonight," Andrea said. Sharon turned her attention back to the blonde, who seemed to be standing much closer to her now. Sharon could smell the subtle sweetness of her perfume.

She smiled. "It's sweet of you to take your nephews," she said. "Do you really have all the comics?" she asked.

Andrea blushed deeply. "Um, yeah," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm not making fun of you," Sharon amended, cursing herself silently for her clumsy words. "I think that's wonderful that you can share that with them. And, it's delightfully unexpected," she added.

"I grew up with three brothers, whether I liked it or not, I was going to be into super heroes. When I moved out after college, I just couldn't part with the comics. So I kept them all in this big box in my attic, and when the boys were old enough, I started reading to them," Andrea explained. "I was always really fascinated by them as a kid. They made fighting crime look so easy," she said, chuckling ruefully.

"Ah yes, if only I had a superpower, dealing with the criminals of LA would be so much easier," Sharon sighed, smiling.

"What makes you so sure that you don't already have one? You've managed to successfully oversee transitions in the Major Crimes department, keep a lid on Provenza's outbursts, and you're raising a teenager all at the same time. I think that you're bursting with superpowers Sharon Raydor," Andrea said.

A shiver ran through her body at hearing the other woman say her name. "Thank you," Sharon said warmly, sincerely.

Andrea smiled at her, slowly and brightly. She took a deep breath before speaking: "You know, the next time Rusty lets you have a night to yourself, you should come by for dinner. I'm an excellent cook if I do say so myself."

It must have been the lateness of the hour, (she'd been up since 5:00am), or the allure of seeing Andrea Hobbs in casual wear, (what she'd give to see her in even less), or perhaps it was the open honesty in Andrea's eyes, but Sharon found herself wanting to accept the invitation very badly, despite her initial objections.

Misreading Sharon's silence, Andrea quickly amended, "I mean, no pressure. If you're too busy..." she trailed off. She was giving her an out.

"No, I'd like that," Sharon said.

Andrea breathed a sigh of relief. "Good-"

"Sharon, hey, Sharon! The line is moving!" The boys were rushing back to Sharon and Andrea, arms full of candy and popcorn.

"Where did you get all of that junk food?" Sharon asked.

"I gave the boys some money when we got here," Andrea explained, "you can't watch a movie without snacks!" She winked at Sharon's half-hearted scowl as she helped herself to a box of chocolate-covered raisins from Kevin's confection collection.

"You two should sit together. Rusty, Charlie and I already figured out how we're sharing the snacks," Kevin, Andrea's younger nephew, advised them.

"Well, we've been told," Sharon said.

Andrea chuckled. "Oh, I don't mind, do you?" She placed her hand on the small of Sharon's back, guiding the brunette forward as the line moved.

"Definitely not," Sharon said, practically purring at the feel of the warmth Andrea's hand through the thin cotton of her shirt.

Despite lining up for almost an hour before the film, it was still a mad dash to get five seats all next to one another. And, wanting Rusty to have the better view, Sharon took the seat that had her caught between the wall of the auditorium, and Andrea. While the seat wasn't nearly as comfortable as the plush leather sofas in her condo, she was definitely not unhappy about her proximity to the woman next to her.

Andrea leaned forward and whispered, "You know, if you let me hold your hand we can both share the armrest."

"Smooth Hobbs, do you often use that line on women?" Sharon teased back, surprised at how comfortable she felt bantering this way with three teenagers next to them. But the boys were so absorbed in their excitement and their newfound, burgeoning friendship that they hardly noticed what their adult chaperones were doing.

"Only on the really beautiful ones," Andrea said seriously. But she made no move to grasp Sharon's hand in her own, or to invade her personal space in any way. As the film played out on the big screen in front of her, Sharon kept sneaking side glances at Andrea, who was fully absorbed in the action in front of her. She looked younger, more carefree, and it wasn't difficult to picture her as a young girl, equally absorbed in the colourful drawings on the pages of her comics as her heroes ruthlessly fought crimes. Andrea's comparison of herself to her childhood heroes had made her heart swell; she'd give anything to be as heroic and as daring as those costumed vigilantes.

Sharon looked on as she opened the box of raisins and ate them slowly, her tongue darting out occasionally to lick at the chocolate stains on her full lips. In the darkness of the theatre, her pale skin was hidden from Sharon's hungry gaze, only the soft blonde waves, and the wet pink of her tongue seemed to stand out.

"You're staring," Andrea observed in a gentle whisper. "Would you like one?" She offered the box to Sharon without even turning her head in Sharon's direction. Sharon could see the smug grin practically plastered on her face.

"No thank you," Sharon said politely as she resumed her attention back to the screen. Beside her, she could hear a soft chuckle from Andrea.

She spent the rest of the film forcing herself to concentrate on the action in front of her. She tried very hard to ignore the warmth of Andrea's arm next to her, the gentle glide of her tongue over her fingertips as she licked the chocolate remnants away, and the infectious, irresistible smile that she wore.

XXX

_Oh God, did we really get home at 3:30am? _she thought as she made her way into her office. There were dark circles under her eyes that no amount of concealer was going to cover, her body was sore and chilled; resenting very much being roused from the warmth of her bed after barely three hours of sleep. She felt every one of her fifty-six years today.

She noticed that something was off, her usually neat desk was noticeably more cluttered than she had left it yesterday afternoon. Right in the middle of her desk was a small stack of extremely well preserved comics, along with a box of chocolate covered raisins. A post it note was placed on top of the pile:

_For Rusty. I hope that he enjoys them every bit as much as I did when I was his age. _

And one was curled around the box of raisins.

_I hope that you'll take me up on my offer soon. _

Sharon smiled to herself; there was no doubt in her mind that both she and Rusty would be enjoying Andrea's generosity very, _very, _soon.


End file.
